carolina has said, a deficit crisis of huge proportions. with an economy that's fighting to recover, and any expenditure must be weighed against all other needs facing our nation. now, i don't take the backseat to anyone when it comes to cutting spending. since i have chaired this committee, the last two years we've cut $100 billion off of discretionary spending. two years in a row going on a third. that's not happened since world war ii. so i know where i speak. in this case, madam chair, the needs are very desperately clear. we must provide this emergency funding as we are allowed by law without the devastating slash and burn cuts elsewhere that this amendment would cause. the amendment before us would splash nearly $20 billion from discretionary spending this year alone, totally indiscriminant, unspecific, cutting the good and the bad, completely abdicating the responsibility of congress to determine where spending should or should not occur. to put this in perspective, this amendment contains a cut to regular discretionary spending that